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Abel-François Poisson

Paris, 18 Feb 1727 – Paris, 12 May 1781

11 facts1 source

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 18 Feb 1727

    Born in Paris

  2. 1751–1774

    Surintendant des Bâtiments

  3. 12 May 1781

    Dies in Paris, aged 54

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partner

During his lifetime

He lived through 7 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Paris.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1720s · Abel-François is born in Paris

In the news1720–1721

The Great Plague of Marseilles

The Great Plague of Marseilles, the last major plague epidemic in France, devastated the region between 1720 and 1721.

Getting around

Common modes of personal travel

While the wealthy used carriages, ordinary people frequently traveled on foot or relied on pack animals like mules for longer journeys between towns.

At the table

Bread as the Foundation of Daily Meals

The staple of the ordinary diet was bread, often consumed as a soup by soaking pieces in water, broth, or vegetable mixtures. This meal structure, centered on a starchy base accompanied by secondary savory foods, remained remarkably stable for centuries.

The Great Northern War. Russia, Denmark and Saxony fought Sweden for the Baltic; Peter the Great won and built St Petersburg on the conquered coast.In Europe · 1700–1721

The Great Northern War. Russia, Denmark and Saxony fought Sweden for the Baltic; Peter the Great won and built St Petersburg on the conquered coast.

Imonoz · CC BY-SA 4.0

What people wore

Sunday Best for Working Women

Working-class women often kept a single outfit, similar to modern Sunday best, specifically for holidays and special public events.

Music

The Pocket-Sized Teacher's Violin

To make professional dance lessons convenient at home, masters used the pochette, a small, boat-shaped violin that could be easily carried in a pocket or sachet.

Daily life

Limited and irregular primary education

Primary schooling was rare, especially for girls, and often conducted irregularly by the local priest or his vicar. Education was limited to the basics of reading, writing, and the catechism.